Army says soldiers fired back at gunman attempting to hurt them; residents say man was only trying to infiltrate Israel to look for work

Efrat Weiss |Published: 02.02.09 , 10:50

A Palestinian man was killed Monday morning near the West Bank religious village of Beit Yatir in South Mount Hebron.

The Israel Defense Forces said the man was a terrorist attempting to hurt soldiers, while Palestinian residents claimed that he was part of a group attempting to infiltrate Israel to look for work.

According to the army, an IDF force was fired on from a moving car at around 9 am. The troops fired back at the vehicle and killed the gunman. There were no injuries among the soldiers.

A military inquiry into the incident revealed that the gunman had slowed down as he approached the soldiers and then opened fire at them.

Sappers were dispatched to the area for fear that the car was booby-trapped. A Kalashnikov rifle was found near the man's body.

A series of shooting attacks have been recorded in the West Bank in the past few weeks. The last incident took place on Saturday evening, when gunmen opened fire at an Israeli bus north of the settlement of Ofra. There were no injuries.